By Blake Chadwick
Wichita Northwest will field one of their best teams since they came up short in the championship game in 2020.
One of their big time guys and leaders this year will be senior linebacker and running back, Johnmichael Fountain.
“Johnmichael has grown into an all-around skilled player for us,” head coach Steve Martin said. “ He has become vocal on the defensive side for us so it’s nice to see that in him.”
The senior is a player who has a unique blend of speed, strength and athleticism that has coaches in the area game planning specifically for him and has college coaches with their jaws dropping watching him. And for guys like Fountain, this summer his work intensified even more.
“As a team we have been on countless workouts and practices to get us more than ready for the season and whatever comes after that,” Fountain said. “I plan on leading my team to the championship by standing up and being a leader myself, and I know I still need to learn a few things.”
Because of how good he is, both on and off the field, the senior has picked up a lot of offers from the likes of Missouri, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Arkansas State.
“What I’m looking for in a school’s program is really the academic side of things,” Fountain said.
For Fountain, of course he wants to win a state championship with the Northwest Grizzlies, but it is truly bigger than football.
Just last year, lightning struck his house while his whole family slept, causing them to lose almost everything.
“(I want) to move my family to a more stable place,” Fountain said. “I want them to move out of Wichita because nothing is down here.”
